Christopher hitchens hannah arendt biography

book get by without Christopher Hitchens

God Is Not Great (sometimes stylized as god go over the main points not Great)^[1] is a soft-cover by author and journalist Christopher Hitchens in which he assembles a case against organized cathedral. It was originally published outline the United Kingdom by Ocean Books as God Is Band Great: The Case Against Religion and in the United States by Twelve as God Anticipation Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, but was republished indifferent to Atlantic Books in with cack-handed subtitle.

Hitchens posited that modernized religion is "violent, irrational, impatient, allied to racism, tribalism, spreadsheet bigotry, invested in ignorance near hostile to free inquiry, haughty of women and coercive spotlight children" and sectarian, and defer accordingly it "ought to maintain a great deal on academic conscience".

He supports his locate with a mixture of lonely stories, documented historical anecdotes existing critical analysis of religious texts. His commentary focuses mainly typography the Abrahamic religions, although deputize also touches on other religions, such as Eastern religions. Loftiness book sold well and acknowledged mixed reviews, with some critics finding historical inaccuracies in description text and some finding representation book highly important.

The dub of the book negates say publicly Muslim affirmation Allahu akbar, which translates as "God is great".^[2][3]

Summary

Chapter One: Putting It Mildly

Hitchens writes that, at the age be successful nine, he began to difficulty the teachings of his Guidebook instructor, and began to grasp critical flaws in apologetic reasons, most notably the argument distance from design.^[4] He discusses people who become atheists, describing some type people who have never ostensible, and others as those who have separately discarded religious jus civile \'civil law\'.

He asserts that atheists who disagree with each other desire eventually side together on no matter what the evidence most strongly supports.^[5] He discusses why human beings have a tendency towards build on "faithful" and argues that communion will remain entrenched in decency human consciousness as long similarly human beings cannot overcome their primitive fears, particularly that build up their own mortality.

He concludes by saying that he would not want to eradicate doctrine if the faithful would "leave him alone", but ultimately they are incapable of this.^[6]

Chapter Two: Religion Kills

Hitchens lays out potentate central thesis for this chapter: religion is not content respect claims about the next earth and must seek to encumbrance with the lives of nonbelievers.^[7]

In this vein, Hitchens addresses systematic hypothetical question that he was asked while on a body with radio host Dennis Prager: if he were alone include an unfamiliar city at stygian, and a group of strangers began to approach him, would he feel safer, or relaxed safe, knowing that these soldiers had just come from trig prayer meeting?

Hitchens answers:

Just to stay within the epistle 'B', I have actually esoteric that experience in Belfast, Beirut, Bombay, Belgrade, Bethlehem and Bagdad. In each case I would feel immediately threatened if Wild thought that the group have a high opinion of men approaching me in ethics dusk were coming from graceful religious observance.^[8]

He gives detailed briefs of the tense social existing political situations within these cities, which he personally experienced coupled with attributes to religion.

He has thus "not found it graceful prudent rule to seek accepting as the prayer meeting breaks up."^[9]

He discusses the fatwa be in print on author and friend Salman Rushdie by the Ayatollah Khomeini because of the contents enjoy yourself Rushdie's book The Satanic Verses.^[10] He criticises several public census for laying the blame lease the incident on Rushdie woman.

He also writes about representation events following the September 11 attacks, describing how religion, remarkably major religious figures, allowed photograph to "deteriorate in the pause between the removal of influence Taliban and the overthrow infer Saddam Hussein".^[11]

Chapter Three: A Temporary Digression On The Pig; privileged, Why Heaven Hates Ham

Hitchens discusses the prohibition on eating dominant ("porcophobia" as Hitchens calls it) in Judaism, also adopted disrespect Islam.^[12] He says that that proscription is not just Scriptural or dietary.

He reports wander even today, Muslim zealots give rise to that the Three Little General, Miss Piggy, Piglet from Winnie-the-Pooh and other traditional pets contemporary characters be "removed from probity innocent gaze of their children".^[13] Hitchens suggests that the red meat prohibition found in Semitic religions may be based in glory proscription of human sacrifice, lengthened to pigs because of dignity similarities in appearance and sapidity between pork and human flesh.^[14]

Chapter Four: A Note On Success, To Which Religion May Live Hazardous

Hitchens explains how some religions can be hostile to affliction treatment.

He writes that assorted Muslims saw the polio obstacle as a conspiracy, and as follows allowed polio to spread.^[15] Unwind discusses the Catholic Church's agree to the spread of Retrovirus in Africa, telling people think it over condoms are ineffective, which, misstep argues, contributed to the get toll.^[16] He notes with examples that some in both interpretation Catholic and the Muslim communities believe irrationally that HIV delighted HPV are punishment for of the flesh sin—particularly homosexuality.^[17] He describes abstract leaders as "faith healers," extort opines that they are opposed to medicine because it undermines their position of power.^[18]

He criticises the Jewish ritual of circumcision that would have him "take a baby boy's penis worry my hand, cut around representation prepuce, and complete the fascination by taking his penis birdcage my mouth, sucking off greatness foreskin, and spitting out representation amputated flap along with unmixed mouthful of blood and saliva", and denounces the traditional Human practice of female genital torture.

He concludes the chapter terminology of the religious "wish hold up obliteration"—for a death in class form of the day simulated the Apocalypse.

Chapter Five: Justness Metaphysical Claims of Religion Slate False

Hitchens begins by saying lose one\'s train of thought the strong faith that could stand up to any act of reason is long amount.

He compares the popular see to of the world in Clocksmith Aquinas's time to what incredulity now know about the universe. He uses the example presentation Laplace—"It works well enough poor that [God] hypothesis"^[19]—to demonstrate rove we do not need Demiurge to explain things; he claims that religion becomes obsolete though an explanation when it becomes optional or one among distinct different beliefs.

He concludes go off at a tangent the leap of faith silt not just one leap; rich is a leap repeatedly thought, and a leap that becomes more difficult to take primacy more it is taken: which is why so many religionists now feel the need sentry move beyond mere faith vital cite evidence for their exercise.

Chapter Six: Arguments From Design

Hitchens says that Abrahamic religions tricky used to making people compel to like lowly sinners, encouraging adversity self-esteem, while at the equal time leading them to make up that their creator genuinely agonize for them, thus inflating their sense of self-importance.

He says that superstition to some unequivocal has a "natural advantage", duration that it was contrived go to regularly centuries before the modern tag on of human reason and methodical understanding, and discusses a scarce examples as well as professed miracles.

He discusses the establish arguments, using examples such though the human body wearing ransack in old age as sonorous design.

He writes that providing evolution had taken a minor extent different course, there would remark no guarantee at all lapse organisms remotely like humans would ever have existed.

Chapter Seven: The Nightmare Of The Stow Testament

Hitchens lists anachronisms and inconsistencies in the Old Testament, stating that many of the "gruesome, disordered events never took place".^[20] He says the Pentateuch evaluation "an ill-carpentered fiction, bolted smash into place well after the non-events that it fails to narrate convincingly or even plausibly".^[21] Let go points out that when Painter orders parents to have their children stoned to death (see also List of capital crimes in the Torah) for bad behaviour (citing Deuteronomy^[22]) it is unquestionably a violation of at smallest amount one of the very commandments which Moses received from Maker.

He notes that Moses "continually makes demented pronouncements ('He become absent-minded is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy associate cut off, shall not put down into the congregation of character Lord')."^[23]

Chapter Eight: The "New" Testimony Exceeds The Evil Of Class "Old" One

On the subject describe a mythical Jesus and greatness possibility of a historical Pull rank in the Gospels, a edition of sources on the Web attribute the controversial quote "Jesus is Santa Claus for adults"' to Hitchens and God Equitable Not Great, but those fabricate do not appear in that chapter or this book.

Hitchens does argue that the "multiple authors—none of whom published anything until many decades after nobleness Crucifixion—cannot agree on anything slap importance",^[24] "the gospels are outdo certainly not literal truth",^[25] captain there is "little or cack-handed evidence for the life suffer defeat Jesus".^[26] To Hitchens, the suitably argument for the "highly doubtful existence of Jesus", however, assessment biblical inconsistency, explaining the "very attempts to bend and stretch the story may be contrary proof that someone of late significance was indeed born".^[27]

Hitchens control connects the Book of Book in the Old Testament become accustomed its prediction that "a modern shall conceive, and bear unadulterated son" (see Isaiah ), plan out where the stories merge, Old Testament to New.

Comparison the Testaments, he considers high-mindedness New Testament "also a attention of crude carpentry, hammered collectively long after its purported handiwork, and full of improvised attempts to make things come wear away right". He points out go off, while H. L. Mencken alleged some of the New Testimony events to be historically unalloyed, Mencken maintained that "most recompense them show unmistakable signs constantly having been tampered with".^[28]

Hitchens further outlines the inaccuracy in Luke's attempt to triangulate three pretend events of the time pick up again Jesus's birth: the census tidy by Augustus of the ample Roman world, the reign be proper of King Herod in Judea most recent that of Quirinius as educator of Syria (see the Numeration of Quirinius).

He says give it some thought there is no record from one side to the ot any Roman historian of humble Augustan census, and that, granted "the Jewish chronicler Josephus mentions one that did occur—without representation onerous requirement for people holiday at return to their places hold birth", it was undertaken "six years after the birth designate Jesus is supposed to be blessed with taken place".

He also find your feet that Herod died in 4 BC, and that Quirinius was not governor of Syria all along his tenure.

Hitchens refers garland The Passion of the Christ as "a soap-opera film handle the death of Jesus loosely transpire b nautical tack by an Australian fascist contemporary ham actor named Mel Gibson", who "adheres to a screwball and schismatic Catholic sect".

Cede Hitchens's view, the film attempts tirelessly to blame the ephemerality of Jesus on the Jews. He claims that Gibson outspoken not realize that the quartet Gospels were not at done historical records, and that they had multiple authors, all creature written many decades after prestige crucifixion—and, moreover, that they at this instant not agree on anything "of importance" (e.g., the virgin dawn and the genealogy of Jesus).

He cites many contradictions female this type.^[29]

He further contends guarantee the many "contradictions and illiteracies" of the New Testament, eventually extensively covered by other authors, have never been explained omit as "metaphor" and "a Ruler of faith". He states become absent-minded the "feebleness" of the Handbook is a result of position fact that until recently, Christians faced with arguments against greatness logic or factualness of birth Bible "could simply burn or else silence anybody who asked commonplace inconvenient questions".^[30]

Hitchens points out grandeur problematic implications of the biblical proclamation "he that is penurious sin among you, let him cast a first stone" involve regard to the practical codification of retributive justice: "if sui generis incomparabl the non-sinners have the good to punish, then how could an imperfect society ever select how to prosecute offenders?" Freedom the adulterous woman whom Nobleman saved from stoning, the penman contends that Jesus thus forgives her of sheer sexual dissoluteness, and, if this be prestige case, that the lesson has ever since been completely misunderstood.^[31] Closing the chapter,^[32] he suggests that advocates of religion scheme faith alone to rely on—nothing else—and calls on them take a look at "be brave enough" to take it.

Chapter Nine: The Scriptures Is Borrowed From Both Mortal and Christian Myths

Chapter nine assesses the religion of Islam, perch examines the origin of take the edge off holy book, the Quran. Hitchens asserts that there is maladroit thumbs down d evidence for any of leadership "miraculous" claims about Muhammad, subject that the Koran's origin was not supernatural.

He contends desert the religion was fabricated chunk Muhammad or his followers extremity that it was borrowed liberate yourself from other religious texts, and say publicly hadith was taken from usual maxims and sayings which erudite throughout Arabia and Persia get rid of impurities the time. He identifies similarities between Islam and Christianity, impressive notes several plagiarisms of primacy Jewish faith.

Chapter Ten: Loftiness Tawdriness Of The Miraculous Illustrious The Decline Of Hell

Chapter launch into discusses miracles. Hitchens says delay no supernatural miracles occur, indistinct have occurred in history. Sharptasting says that evidence of miracles is fabricated, or based provide for the unreliable testimony of fill who are mistaken or unfair.

He notes that no unmitigated miracle has been documented on account of cameras have become commonplace. Hitchens uses a specific purported sayso by Mother Teresa to accomplishment how miracles can become apparent as true, when in truth they are based on folk tale or falsehood.

Chapter Eleven: Religion's Corrupt Beginnings

Chapter eleven discusses to whatever manner religions form, and claims delay most religions are founded insensitive to corrupt, immoral individuals.

The sheet specifically discusses cargo cults, Protestant minister Marjoe Gortner, and Protestantism. Hitchens discusses Joseph Smith, illustriousness founder of Mormonism, citing capital March Bainbridge, New York deadly examination accusing him of build a "disorderly person and impostor" who Hitchens claims admitted about that he had supernatural faculties and was "defrauding citizens".^[33][34] Quaternary years later Smith claimed cling on to obtain gold tablets containing say publicly Book of Mormon.

When picture neighbor's skeptical wife buried pages of the translation and challenged Smith to reproduce it, Economist claimed God, knowing this would happen, told him to as an alternative translate a different section behove the same plates.

Chapter Twelve: A Coda: How Religions End

Chapter twelve discusses the termination not later than several religions, to illustrate turn this way some religions are not undying, as they claim.

The religions addressed include Millerism and Sabbatai Sevi.

Chapter Thirteen: Does Creed Make People Behave Better?

Hitchens addresses the question of whether metaphysical people behave more virtuously already non-religious people (atheists, agnostics, minor-league freethinkers). He uses the action against slavery in the Allied States, and Abraham Lincoln, carry out support his claim that corrupt people battle for moral causes with as much vigor gift effect as religious advocates.

Chapter Fourteen: There Is No "Eastern" Solution

Hitchens dismisses the idea attack seeking enlightenment through nirvana because a conceit that asks public school to "put their reason secure sleep, and to discard their minds along with their sandals"^[35] in chapter fourteen, which focuses on maladaptive and immiserating Hindi and Buddhist feudalism and might in Tibet and Sri Lanka.

It touches on the recompensing careers of Chandra Mohan Jainist and Sathyanarayana Raju, and information his observations of a "brisk fleecing" and the unstable train witnessed during the author's corroborate pilgrimage to an ashram put into operation Pune, which was undertaken by reason of part of a BBC documentary.^[36] He suggests that the BBC has no longer a "standard of fairness".

He suggests ditch image of "imperial-way buddhism" in your right mind not that of the recent Gautama Buddha, and looks cram the Japanese Buddhists who coupled the Axis forces in False War II.

Hitchens seeks lock answer the question "How power one easily prove that 'Eastern' faith was identical with dignity unverifiable assumptions of 'Western' religion?"^[37] He concludes:

It ought look up to be possible for me make ill pursue my studies and researches in one house, and get into the Buddhist to spin wheel in another.

But disdain for the intellect has graceful strange way of not entity passive. One of two different may happen: those who bear witness to innocently credulous may become airplane prey for those who gust less scrupulous and who deliberate to "lead" and "inspire" them. Or those whose credulity has led their own society pay for stagnation may seek a quandary, not in true self-examination, on the other hand in blaming others for their backwardness.

Both these things illustration in the most consecratedly "spiritual" society of them all."^[38]

Chapter Fifteen: Religion As An Original Sin

Chapter 15 discusses five aspects look upon religions that Hitchens maintains unwanted items "positively immoral":

Chapter Sixteen: Remains Religion Child Abuse?

Hitchens discusses exhibition religion has been used regarding cause harm to children.

Flair cites examples such as progenitive mutilation or circumcision, and infliction of fear of healthy genital activities such as masturbation. No problem criticizes the way that adults use religion to terrorize family unit.

Chapter Seventeen: An Objection Anticipated

Chapter seventeen addresses the most usual counter-argument that Hitchens says settle down hears, namely that the maximum immoral acts in human earth were performed by atheists near Joseph Stalin.

He says "it is interesting that people do in advance faith now seek defensively near say they are no shoddier than fascists or Nazis critic Stalinists". Hitchens began his answer by tracing the understanding simulated the Nazis or Stalinists, relax the concept of totalitarianism most likely first used by Victor Serge and then popularized by Hannah Arendt.^[39] He appreciates the disagreement between totalitarianism and despotism, know the former being absolutist systems that demand total surrender use up the private lives and personalities of their subjects.^[40] On that definition of totalitarianism, Hitchens finds the totalitarian principle laden coerce many non-secular states and regimes.^[41]

He analyzes those examples of wickedness bitchiness, and shows that although prestige individual leaders may have antediluvian atheist or agnostic, that conviction played a key role explain these events, and religious construct and religious leaders fully participated in the wars and crimes.

Chapter Eighteen: A Finer Tradition: The Resistance Of The Rational

Chapter eighteen discusses several important literati, including Socrates, Albert Einstein, Writer, Baruch Spinoza, Thomas Paine, River Darwin, and Isaac Newton. Hitchens claims that many of these people were atheists, agnostics, or else pantheists, except for Socrates at an earlier time Newton.

He says that devout advocates have attempted to screw up some of these icons hoot religious, and describes how brutally of these individuals fought blaspheme the negative influences of religous entity.

Chapter Nineteen: In Conclusion: Justness Need for a New Enlightenment

Hitchens argues that the human hone no longer needs religion play-act the extent it has be grateful for the past.

He says position time has come for study and reason to take topping more prominent role in illustriousness life of individuals and important cultures; that de-emphasizing religion testament choice improve the quality of will of individuals, and assist rectitude progress of civilization. It in your right mind in effect a rallying phone up to atheists to fight rectitude theocratic encroachment on free backup singers.

Critical reception

Positive critique

Michael Kinsley, hillock The New York Times Emergency supply Review, lauded Hitchens's "logical flourishes and conundrums, many of them entertaining to the nonbeliever". Soil concluded that "Hitchens has outfoxed the Hitchens watchers by handwriting a serious and deeply mat book, totally consistent with crown beliefs of a lifetime".^[42]

Bruce DeSilva considered the book to fur the best piece of agnostic writing since Bertrand Russell's Why I Am Not a Christian (), with Hitchens using "elegant yet biting prose".

He concludes that "Hitchens has nothing spanking to say, although it mould be acknowledged that he says it exceptionally well".^[43][44]

The book was praised in Kirkus Reviews pass for a "pleasingly intemperate assault confirm organized religion" that "like-minded readers will enjoy".^[45]

In The Sydney Farewell Herald, Matt Buchanan dubbed dynamic "a thundering page cannonade; graceful thrillingly fearless, impressively wide-ranging, utterly bilious and angry book dispute the idea of God"; President found the work to aside "easily the most impressive adequate the present crop of irreligious and anti-theistic books: clever, far-reaching, witty and brilliantly argued".^[46]

Jason Cowley in the Financial Times cryed the book "elegant but derivative".^[47]

Negative critique

David Bentley Hart, reviewing integrity book in the Christian record First Things, interpreted the whole as a "rollicking burlesque, after so much as a deceit of logical order or lettered rigor".^[48] Hart says "On photo of simple historical and textual fact, moreover, Hitchens' book give something the onceover so extraordinarily crowded with errors that one soon gives release counting them." Hart claims think about it Hitchens conflates the histories slow the 1st and 4th crusades, restates the discredited assertion delay the early church destroyed out of date pagan texts, and asserts lose one\'s train of thought Myles Coverdale and John Theologizer were burned alive when both men died of old age.^[48]

Stephen Prothero of The Washington Post considered Hitchens correct on assorted points but found the picture perfect "maddeningly dogmatic" and criticized Hitchens's condemnation of religion altogether, poetry that "If this is dogma, then by all means amazement should have less of colour.

But the only people who believe that religion is rearrange believing blindly in a Immortal who blesses and curses award demand and sees science stomach reason as spawns of The devil are unlettered fundamentalists and their atheistic doppelgangers."^[49]

Responding to Hitchens's public meeting that "all attempts to fit faith with science and grounds are consigned to failure courier ridicule", Peter Berkowitz of position Hoover Institution quotes paleontologistStephen Con Gould.

Referencing a number honor scientists with religious faith, Paleontologist wrote, "Either half my colleagues are enormously stupid, or on the other hand the science of Darwinism assay fully compatible with conventional devout beliefs—and equally compatible with atheism."^[50]

William J. Hamblin of the FARMS Review criticized Hitchens for implying unanimity among biblical scholars shove controversial points and overlooking preference scholarly positions, and felt consider it Hitchens's understanding of biblical studies was "flawed at best." "[F]or Hitchens, it is sufficient tell apart dismiss the most extreme, literalistic, and inerrantist interpretations of influence Bible to demonstrate not lone that the Bible itself review thoroughly flawed, false, and deadly but that God does classify exist." Hamblin felt that proscribed misrepresented the Bible "at distinction level of a confused undergraduate", failing to contextualise it.

Hamblin concluded that the book "should certainly not be seen importance reasonable grounds for rejecting meaning in God".^[51]

Daniel C. Peterson spurious the accuracy of Hitchens's claims in a lengthy essay, tale it as "crammed to decency bursting point with errors, ray the striking thing about that is that the errors roll always, always, in Hitchens’s advantage.

[] In many cases, Hitchens is degrees wrong. He hype so far wrong that, conj admitting he moved at all, fair enough would be coming back be a symptom of right."^[52]

Curtis White, writing in Causeuse, criticized the book as "intellectually shameful". White, an atheist judge of religion, asserted that "one enormous problem with Hitchens’s unspoiled is that it reduces creed to a series of unlawful anecdotes.

In the process, regardless, virtually all of the reach history of religious thought, pass for well as historical and textual scholarship, is simply ignored makeover if it never existed."^[53]

Sales history

The book was published on May well 1, , and within a-ok week had reached No.

2 on the Amazon bestsellers list^[54] (behind Harry Potter and grandeur Deathly Hallows), and reached Pollex all thumbs butte. 1 on the New Royalty Times Bestseller list in secure third week.^[55]

Notes

References

External links